i20 N Line: Less Comfortable but Otherwise Good
I test-drove the Hyundai i20 N Line Turbo DCT, which is a hot hatch, both in the city and on the highway, and evaluated it against my requirements. This car costs 17 lakh.
I wouldn’t buy it, because its suspension is firm. You feel every undulation and imperfection in the road. At expressway speeds, I’ve observed cars with firm suspensions to bounce more or risk being thrown up in the air when going over a bump. This is both unsafe and uncomfortable.
Besides, driving this car is a noisy experience: the engine is unrefined, because it’s only a 3-cylinder.
Because of the poor NVH, I wouldn’t buy it. For its price of 17 lakh, I’d buy the Kiger, which is more comfortable, though less powerful. For me, comfort is important.
Having said that, if you disagree with my preference and prefer a firmer suspension and better performance, then this is the best car for its price of 17 lakh. Read on for a review of each aspect:
+ 4 meters long, so easier to park.
+ There’s a pocket for keys near the window controls.
± Manual parking brake
- The center area between the two front seats is so tiny as to not be very useful.
+ The car has nice red accents inside and out, and looks good, not cheap.
Comfort
- The seat isn’t electrically adjustable. This is a problem because manual adjustment is hard to fine-tune. Further, trying to manually adjust when driving can be dangerous.
+ The seat is 3-way adjustable: front / back, recline and height.
+ Great legroom
+ Good headroom, considering it’s a hot hatchback1.
- No auto hold.
- The car has a 7-speed DCT, but when floored, each gear shift comes with a noticeable jerk. This is surprising — I’ve never seen this from a DCT, or even a torque converter, only an AMT. Practically, think of this car as having an AMT. If you wouldn’t buy an AMT, don’t buy this car.
- When I brake, the engine surged. This happened multiple times. It sounds like the automatic transmission is disengaging the clutch and then waiting too long before throttling down. When driving my manual, I too first clutch in and then let off the accelerator, but I do it fast enough that the engine doesn’t audibly surge2, and I’m consistent at it. It’s a bad automatic that’s worse than me. Computers should be able to perform such routine tasks better than humans!
+ Sport mode isn’t significantly noisier than Normal. There’s no annoying engine whine as come cars have, so you can drive it in Sport all the time for better performance.
+ All four windows are reasonably sized by hot hatch standards and not cramped.
Driving
- The engine is weak, so I have to floor it often. Even then, it can’t go through gaps in traffic since it’s limited by power. I stopped trying, and it would be risky to get stuck midway through a maneuver, whereas a Verna or a Creta would have easily made it.
- It’s just an 88 KW engine. I find 98 to be minimum for spirited driving. This is because it’s just a 1-liter turbo. I find that to be inadequate, preferring a 1.5 turbo.
+ In Sport, it maintains a minimum RPM of 2100. In other words, the RPM immediately after an upshift is 2100.
Digital
+ USB-C port
- 2 USB-A ports, one in the front and one in the rear. Hyundai should have upgraded these obsolete ports to USB-C.
- Wired CarPlay works only via USB-A.
+ 12V 180W port.
- The screen is wide, which is unhelpful in Maps — you see what’s far from you on either side of the route. A tall screen is helpful since you can see what’s farther along your route.
- I can accept a call using a steering-mounted button but I have to use the touchscreen to end it.
± My iPhone’s volume control doesn’t work in CarPlay, but it doesn’t in most cars.
- The Bose music system is not the stellar one in the Creta, but it’s still satisfying to listen to music on it, and better than any other car for this budget. In fact, everything in this car is great for its price. It punches above its weight.
Cooling
+ The door pocket can accommodate one bottle, whether my Thermos or a 1-liter Bisleri.
+ 2 center bottle holders of different sizes. The big one can accommodate either my Thermos or a 1-liter Bisleri, while the small one, only my Thermos.
± Single-zone AC
- The glovebox isn’t cooled.
+ Sunglass holder
- The sunroof isn’t panoramic, which is unfortunate, because a panoramic sunroof does a stellar job of instantly cooling a black car that has been parked for hours in the summer afternoon sun.
- The opaque part of the sunroof opens manually, making possible a situation where it’s closed but the glass is open, bringing in heat and noise but not cooling or a view.
Front passenger seat
+ I can stretch my legs comfortably, but not fully.
- Not height adjustable; only front / back and recline.
+ Good headroom by sedan / hot hatch standards.
Rear seat
+ I can stretch my legs comfortably
+ The headroom is uncomfortable, but reasonable by hot hatch / sedan standards.
- The thigh support is poor, so it makes my legs dangle.
+ There’s lots of space.
- No USB-C or 12V port.
- The sunroof is hardly visible, since it’s not panoramic
+ Next to my headrest is a mini window (behind the quarter glass). This is not openable, but it lets light in, making it feel more spacious.
+ Each of the rear passengers can independently adjust the AC direction up / down / left / right.
Hot hatches have similar height as a sedan, so I expect similar headroom, and not as much as a crossover like the Creta.
It increases by approximately 500 RPM, which is not much and doesn’t sound like much.